In-House Filtration Efficiency Assessment of Vapor Hydrogen Peroxide Decontaminated Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs)

Khaled Al-Hadyan, Ghazi Alsbeih, Ahmad Nobah, Jeffrey Lindstrom, Sawsan Falatah, Nawarh Faran, Salem Al-Ghamdi, Belal Moftah and Rashed Alhmaid
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Khaled Al-Hadyan: Radiation Biology Section, Biomedical Physics Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Ghazi Alsbeih: Radiation Biology Section, Biomedical Physics Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Nobah: Emerging Technology Unit, Biomedical Physics Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Jeffrey Lindstrom: Perioperative Services Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Sawsan Falatah: Protocol Service Nursing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Nawarh Faran: Quality Management Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Salem Al-Ghamdi: Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Belal Moftah: Emerging Technology Unit, Biomedical Physics Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Rashed Alhmaid: General Corporate Consultancy Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: To cope with the shortage of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), healthcare institutions have been forced to reuse FFRs using different decontamination methods, including vapor hydrogen peroxide (VHP). However, most healthcare institutions still struggle with evaluating the effect of VHP on filtration efficiency (FE) of the decontaminated FFRs. We developed a low-cost in-house FE assessment using a novel 3D-printed air duct. Furthermore, we assessed the FE of seven types of FFRs. Following 10 VHP cycles, we evaluated the FE of KN95 and 3M-N95 masks. The 3M-N95 and Benehal-N95 masks showed significant lower FE (80.4–91.8%) at fine particle sizes (0.3–1 µm) compared to other FFRs (FE ? 98.1%, p < 0.05). Following 10 VHP cycles, the FE of KN95 masks was almost stable (FE stability > 99.1%) for all particle sizes, while 3M-N95 masks were stable only at 2 and 5 µm (FE stability > 98.0%). Statistically, FE stability of 3M-N95 masks at 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 µm was significantly lower ( p ? 0.006) than 2 and 5 µm. The in-house FE assessment may be used as an emergency procedure to validate the decontaminated FFRs, as well as a screening option for production control of FFRs. Following VHP cycles, both masks showed high stability at 5 µm, the size of the most suspected droplets implicated in COVID-19 transmission.

Keywords: COVID-19; N95 masks; KN95 masks; vapor hydrogen peroxide; FFRs; decontamination; filtration efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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